Painter, 57, with a deformed nose is given a new one for Christmas

Estrada had not been passive in the face of his condition. He had spent six years actively seeking help, consulting multiple physicians and skin specialists, hoping each new appointment might bring a solution. Each time, he left without one.

“I had spent six years seeing doctors and skin specialists and nothing would get better,” Estrada said.

In the meantime, the practical consequences of living with advanced rhinophyma accumulated steadily. The enlargement had progressed to the point where it was encroaching on his lips — so much so that when he took a bite of food, the spoon or fork would make contact with the tissue of his nose. Simply eating had become a daily challenge.

Breathing was another issue. The enlargement affected his airway sufficiently to cause heavy snoring during sleep, disrupting his rest night after night.

And then there were the social dimensions — the ones that do not appear in clinical descriptions but that shape a person’s daily experience in ways that are profound and deeply personal. Estrada wore a face mask consistently, not because of illness, but because it provided a measure of coverage from the stares of strangers.

“They would stare at me,” he said. “Children would ask their mothers what happened to me — and I would get around it by using a face mask all the time.”

The professional impact was real as well. Dr. Romo, reflecting on what he observed when he first encountered Estrada, was direct about the broader implications of the condition.

“This has to be affecting his life, his relationship with other people, his ability to get work, and his self-esteem,” Romo said. “I don’t mind telling people what I think.”

The Operation
Just days after the chance meeting in Bronxville, Conrado Estrada was on the operating table at Lenox Hill Hospital. Dr. Romo performed the reconstructive procedure, reshaping the nose and removing the excess tissue that had accumulated over the years. Sterile bandages were applied, and the transformation began.

The procedure required skill and precision. Rhinophyma surgery is not simply a cosmetic adjustment — it involves carefully removing and reshaping significantly altered tissue while preserving the underlying structures of the nose and restoring both its appearance and its function. It is exactly the kind of specialized work that Dr. Romo has devoted his career to.

“I re-shaped his nose and applied sterile bandages,” Romo wrote. “He was so thrilled and thankful. There is no better satisfaction than being able to use my specialty and skill to improve another person’s quality of life.”

The operation was performed at no cost to Estrada. Dr. Romo has a longstanding history of pro bono work — he is involved with the Little Baby Face Foundation, an organization that typically focuses on helping children born with facial differences. Extending that generosity to an adult he encountered entirely by chance was, for Romo, a natural expression of the same values.

“Not many people know how to fix this condition, and health insurance will not necessarily cover it,” he noted.

A New Man
Estrada has described Romo as God having sent an angel to him

The results went far beyond the physical. Those who saw Estrada in the aftermath of his surgery described a transformation that extended well beyond his appearance.

“It’s not just the shape of his face that’s changed,” Dr. Romo observed. “You’d think he won an Olympic gold medal. Chest out, head up, he’s a smiling guy. I feel great for him.”

The confidence that had been quietly eroded over years of stares, avoidance, and daily discomfort had returned. The man who had habitually worn a face covering to move through the world without drawing attention now moved through it differently — openly, freely, with his head up.